Time for the 49ers to start another offseason program as the NFC’s reigning runners-up.
Yes, that’s a clunky, deflating title, and they also lugged it into last year’s offseason program.
So how do they eventually become Super Bowl champs, after a 28-season drought? This is the starting point of their 29th try.
Coach Kyle Shanahan enters his seventh season with a robust roster, with most starting spots set, with playoff experience galore, and with quarterback uncertainty yet again.
Before we list what to expect over the next two months, the offseason program’s rules:
— This initial phase is restricted for two weeks to strength and conditioning plus rehabilitation and, as always, meetings.
— Players can reconvene for on-field workouts in two weeks, though no offense-vs.-defense drills are permitted.
— Phase Three covers four weeks of organized team activities, leading into the mandatory minicamp June 11-13. No live contact is permitted in the offseason.
The 49ers’ first access to players will come next Monday, April 24, before weekly invitiations to OTAs next month.
Here are five storylines to expect:
1. QUARTERBACK COMPETITION
Brock Purdy is a month into a six-month journey back from right-elbow surgery, and after starting his rehabilitation in Arizona, he’s expected at the 49ers’ headquarters Monday. On-field quarterback duties, however, will fall on Trey Lance and newcomer Sam Darnold.
Lance recently worked out in Texas with the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and personal passing coach Jeff Christensen.
Lance was the undisputed QB1 in last year’s offseason program, but Darnold figures to make a run for that job – and have the opportunity to get it — more so than Nate Sudfeld and Purdy last year. Lance has two more weeks for his surgically repaired right ankle to brace for the on-field competition, then every throw and decision will be chartered for the coming months.
2. WELCOME MAT
Remember, the offseason program is voluntary, up until the mid-June minicamp, so not all veterans will show.
Free agent additions still would be best served to get started on their initiation process, including Darnold, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, defensive backs Isaiah Oliver and Myles Hartsfield, defensive ends Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant, and, offensive linemen Jon Feliciano and Matt Pryor.
Of Shanahan’s 22 assistants, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks makes his entrance, as does Klint Kubiak, the new passing-game specialist and the older brother to assistant quarterbacks coach Klay Kubiak.
3. HEALTH CHECK
Lance and Purdy are not the only prominent players coming off serious injuries. Elijah Mitchell’s second season was curtailed by knee sprains, and getting him up to full health is key to forming a magnificent tandem in the backfield with Christian McCaffrey. Speaking of running backs, Jordan Mason and Ty Davis-Price are coming off contrasting rookie seasons, but this offseason program affords them a chance to boost their stock before the inevitable arrival of this year’s rookie challengers.
The 49ers did not make any known changes to their health and performance staff, which remains led by Ben Peterson. Dustin Perry is the head trainer and Dustin Little leads the strength and conditioning program.
4. D-LINE STRIDES
Hargrave’s addition is huge for the defensive line, which now must hone in on its edge-rushing depth. Nick Bosa typically trains in his native Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and if he does so again while awaiting a contract extension in late summer, that allows other defensive ends to take educational reps from position coaches Kris Kocurek and Darryl Tapp.
Drake Jackson, after fading in his rookie season, is working hard to win the starting spot on the flank opposite Bosa. Ferrell and Bryant are the veteran arrivals, but the 49ers should bring in more competition via the draft, where they hold 11 picks, starting at No. 99 late in the third round.
Also keep an eye on defensive tackle Kalia Davis, a sixth-round pick last year who spent his rookie season rehabilitating an ACL reconstruction.
5. PROMOTIONS AFOOT?
Of the 49ers’ job openings, some former reserves can step into roles they previously filled as injury replacements, such as right tackle Colton McKivitz and strong-side linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.
A lot of rookies got scant playing time last season or worked on the practice squad, so now is their opportunity to get back into the action. Players such as Davis-Price, wide receiver Danny Gray, linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball, offensive linemen Jason Poe, Leroy Watson and Alfredo Gutierrez; wide receivers Tay Martin and Dazz Newsome; and, defensive backs Sam Womack III, Tayler Hawkins and Qwuantrezz Knight.
Source: www.mercurynews.com